Drain-tile gate



P. DARST. Drain Tile Gate.

No. 231,544. Patented Aug. 24,1880.

* @Megb N- PETERS. PNOTO-DTNOGRAPHERKWASNINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK DARST, OF EUREKA, ILLINOIS.

DRAIN-Tl LE GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,544, dated August24:, 1880.

Application filed February 17, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK DARST, of Enreka,in the county of Woodford, in the State of Illinois, have invented aDrain-Tile Gate for the Exclusion of Vermin, &c.; and I do herebydeclare that the followin gis afull, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in which like letters of reference refer to likeparts, and in which- Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical sectionthrough the center of the drain-tile; Fig. 2, a cross-section of thetile with elevavation of the included gate; and Fig. 3, a horizontalsection of the tile, showing the gates.

The object of this invention is at once to prevent vermin from enteringthe drain and to allow water to pass freely by or through said gate; andmy lIlVGlllltll consists in hanging two flaps, preferably of metal, upona horizontal wire or hinge suspended across the center of drain, eachprojecting in a diagonal direction, so as, respectively,toabuttheoneagainst the roof of the drain, the other against the floor ofthe same, inclining toward the mouth ofthe drain, as seen in Fig. 1. Thetwo flaps, when extended base to base in the same plane, have theoutline of an ellipse whose minor axis is of the same diameter as thatof the bore of the drain-tile. The lower gate rests normally upon thefloor of the drain in a sloping position toward the mouth of the latter,while the upper gateis kept closed in a reverseposition against the roofof the drain by means of a weight projecting from said upper gate beyondthe hinge. The gates open down the drain in the direction of thecurrent, but fall back to their normal position and close the drain whenthe same is not occupied by water.

In the drawings, A is the cylindrical draintile; B, lower gate of thinperforated metal for the passage of air, hinged at d to the crosswire a,and presenting an inclination downward in the direction of the course ofthe water and filling the lower half of the tile.

0 is the upper half of the gate, and is of the same material and shapeas the lower one, hinged to the same wire a, but projecting in anexactly reversed position, so as to close the upper or remaining half ofthe drain when in its normal position, in which it is sustained by meansof a weighted arm, I), projecting from it beyond the hinge d, or up thedrain. Both gates are perforated or punched to admit circulation of air,gas, or water.

The operation of this gate needs little description. When water in thedrain rises sufficiently high the lower gate gives way to it. So doesthe upper one when the water rises far enough above the hinge a. Atthese times no vermin can pass up the drain, as it is full of water, andwhen water is absent the gates are closed, the lower one by its gravity,the upper one by means of its extended weighted arm b. This gate, ormodification otit, will be equally operative for any sized drain-tile,or, indeed, for all ordinary-sized drains.

What I claim as my invention isl. A tile-gate or drain-trap composed oftwo inclined flaps hinged each across the center of the drainhorizontally, and each being wider from the hinge to their respectivefree ends than at other parts, to prevent them from opening up thedrain, the lower flap closing that part of the drain by its own gravity,the upper flap closing that half of the drain by means of an attachedweighted arm, 1), substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the gates B C, with a common horizontal hinge,across the center of a drain, A, the upper gate weighted in such amanner as to be ordinarily in contact with the crown of said drain,while the lower gate, B, is closed by means of its own gravity.

3. The combination, with a drain-tile, of the wire a, as a pivot for thegates B U, the gate B, and the weighted gate 0, substantially as and forthe purpose described.

4. In a drain-tile, the construction and arrangement of the gates B G,hinged to crosswire a, common to both, the gate 0 provided with aweight, b, as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing drain-tile gate I have hereuntoset my hand this 6th day of February, 1880.

FRANK DARST.

Witnesses J. P. DARST, J. J. PAYNE.

